² The king summoned the Gibeonites^(A) and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.)

¹⁷ Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them.^(A)

² For I can testify about them that they are zealous^(A) for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.

⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John^(A) saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them^[a]?”^{(B) 55} But Jesus turned and rebuked them.

³¹ Yet Jehu was not careful^(A) to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins^(B) of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.

¹⁶ Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal^(A) for the Lord.” Then he had him ride along in his chariot.

⁸ He took Agag^(A) king of the Amalekites alive,^(B) and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the army spared^(C) Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves^[a] and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

⁴⁴ Saul said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely,^(A) if you do not die, Jonathan.^(B)”

³ However, when the people of Gibeon^(A) heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,^{(B) 4} they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded^[a] with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. ⁵ They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. ⁶ Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal^(C) and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country;^(D) make a treaty^(E) with us.”

⁷ The Israelites said to the Hivites,^(F) “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty^(G) with you?”

⁸ “We are your servants,^(H)” they said to Joshua.

But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

⁹ They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country^(I) because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports^(J) of him: all that he did in Egypt,^{(K) 10} and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon,^(L) and Og king of Bashan,^(M) who reigned in Ashtaroth.^{(N) 11} And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.”’ ¹² This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. ¹³ And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.”

¹⁴ The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire^(O) of the Lord. ¹⁵ Then Joshua made a treaty of peace^(P) with them to let them live,^(Q) and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

¹⁶ Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near^(R) them. ¹⁷ So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth^(S) and Kiriath Jearim.^{(T) 18} But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath^(U) to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.

The whole assembly grumbled^(V) against the leaders, ¹⁹ but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. ²⁰ This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath^(W) we swore to them.” ²¹ They continued, “Let them live,^(X) but let them be woodcutters and water carriers^(Y) in the service of the whole assembly.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.